肯尼索,遗传算法. | 2024年6月24日

In 1981, NASA launched into orbit the space shuttle Columbia, which made 37 revolutions around Earth before safely l和ing at Edwards Air Force Base in California two days 晚些时候.

这次任务非常成功, demonstrating the shuttle’s ability to not only take off like a rocket 和 carry a crew through orbit, 还能像飞机一样着陆.

It also instilled in 肯Kubiak a lifelong fascination with space travel.

Kubiak describes how his peers looked to Star Trek to spur their interest in space, but he distinctly remembers seeing the launch of Columbia on television. 后 任务，一切都是关于太空和飞行.

 “Space has always been my main interest,库比亚克说. “I enjoy telling people that in a nutshell, I am trying to make Star Trek a reality.”

Kubiak, 机械工程 student, enrolled at 正规博彩十大网站排名 in 2022 to pursue his second bachelor’s degree.

He previously worked in cybersecurity for 20 years, including a five-year stint in 美国.S. Senate, where he worked under the Sergeant of Arms as a senior information 安全专家.

尽管他很成功, Kubiak did not feel as fulfilled as he thought he could be, believing he had not given his passion for space enough attention, 和 decided to return to school with his wife’s full support of his dream.

At this time, his wife received a promotion that moved her to Atlanta, 和 after Kubiak was accepted to 正规博彩十大网站排名, he began his 机械工程 degree, with minors in 核工程 和 航空航天工程.

“At some point I realized that I wasn’t too old to try to learn new things, so I decided to give it a shot 和 see how I would do,库比亚克说.

Kubiak also holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communication from 美国niversity at Buffalo, plus a Master of 科学 in Information Assurance from Norwich University.

So, while he wasn’t a stranger to the higher education system, Kubiak’s return to school was still a massive change for Kubiak 和 his wife.

Despite unwavering support from his wife, Kubiak experienced anxiety as he gave up his career to become a full-time student 和 left his wife to be the sole breadwinner 在他们家里.

“I have to admit that not only was I concerned as I hadn’t had a math class in over a decade, 但我也不知道我是否能适应,库比亚克说. “最终, I have had many classmates who are working full-time, 有孩子的家庭, 甚至是刚刚结婚的人, 和 I realized that I really wasn’t that different from them.”

Kubiak is currently part of the Summer Undergraduate 研究 program, sponsored by the Office of Undergraduate 研究, where he works with Gaurav Sharma, assistant professor of 机械工程 in the Advanced Aerospace & 推进实验室(AAPL).

The project strives to make deep space travel more accessible 和 easier to achieve by exploring options for using vortex engines, which effectively inject fuel around the combustion chamber in a circular pattern to keep the rocket engine cooler while 提供更大的推力. The team will then apply this concept to nuclear propulsion 火箭，还有待开发.

 “The value for the research I'm conducting with Dr. Sharma is to help enable faster 和 cheaper access to deep-space destinations in order to make space exploration 和 colonization economically feasible 和 reduce the risks to astronauts posed by space radiation 和 biological changes from microgravity,库比亚克说.

 库比亚克也是 President of the American 航空航天研究所 student 正规博彩十大网站排名的章节 a member of Kennesaw Rocketry, which is where he originally met Sharma, who became 2023年秋季的小组顾问. 该队参加比赛 throughout the year, including the NASA Student Launch challenge 和 the Spaceport 美国杯.

 Sharma spoke to the group about a variety of research opportunities with the American 航空航天研究所.

 在正规博彩十大网站排名期间, 库比亚克获得了一系列令人印象深刻的奖项, including l和ing on the president’s list 和 receiving a nomination for the Goldwater Scholarship, presented annually to the nation’s top undergraduate scholars in the sciences, 数学与工程.

 “Though I was not awarded the Barry Goldwater Scholarship this year,库比亚克说, “I was fortunate to be a recipient of the first Bob Greene Scholarship from the Atlanta Chapter of the American 航空航天研究所.”

 Kubiak intends to continue studying in this field in graduate school but has not decided whether he will complete a second master’s degree or go straight into a doctorate program.  

——Alyssa Ozment的故事

摄影:Matt Young

创新教学的领导者, 正规博彩十大网站排名提供本科, 拥有研究生和博士学位45余人,000名学生. Kennesaw State is a member of 美国niversity System of Georgia with 11 academic colleges. 大学充满活力的正规博彩十大网站排名, 多样化的人口, strong global ties 和 entrepreneurial spirit draw students from throughout the country 和 the world. Kennesaw State is a Carnegie-designated doctoral research institution (R2), placing it among an elite group of only 7 percent of U.S. 具有R1或R2资格的学院和大学. 欲了解更多信息，请访问 肯尼索.edu.